A Human-Centered Approach

HR or Human Resources is one of the most hated departments in organizations. Over the years, I've looked at people in HR with colleagues and thought they were there to make our lives miserable. From telling us they cannot find the right talent to arguing with us over salaries, and raises, or sending us emails holding us accountable for leaves, office attendance, etc.

I know I had a lady at the Trusts who would call me and say, "Dear, you did not check in on days 3 and 4 two months ago, where were you?" At that point, I just wanted to scream at her and say, "Well, I don't know because I didn't track every minute of my work schedule." Now I wonder if I need one of these people.

As I build V-All, I realize that I am self-accountable, so no matter if I am supervised, I will deliver work. But this is not necessarily the case across teams. I saw this at CSIP and I now see it at V-All, especially with a young workforce. If we don't follow up, work is not necessarily completed on its own. People don't show up for meetings or the office and are mostly unapologetic about it. There is constant follow-up to ensure deadlines.

These are the points when I wish there was an admin person who was a bad person and called people asking them, "Dear, where were you last week and when will you finish your work?" Sounds silly, but the reality is even with a small organization, one needs an employee handbook. Something that clearly outlines holidays and basic rules because, without that, there will always be a culture where people become lax and start taking the culture for granted.

While I would like to have some rules, I also think we are all adults and can be self-accountable or should learn how to.

I want to set clear expectations but also encourage autonomy. I want to provide regular feedback but also foster open communication with employees. I want rules but also want flexible work arrangements to improve work-life balance.

So, it's a constant struggle to create a holiday calendar or limit the amount of paid sick leave. I wonder what is a fine balance between having 9-5 corporate rules and a flexible culture. Any recommendations? Any existing guidebooks one can share so that we can adopt it at V-All because I don't want to send weekly WhatsApp messages trying to hold everyone accountable. So, what is the solution? Any thoughts?